New to the Forum
Printed From: R-pod Owners Forum
Category: R-pod Discussion Forums
Forum Name: Introduce Yourself
Forum Discription: New Members - tell us about yourself and your r-pod
URL: http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=13516
Printed Date: 02 May 2025 at 12:47pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 9.64 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: New to the Forum
Posted By: s2anderson
Subject: New to the Forum
Date Posted: 28 Apr 2020 at 9:57pm
|
New to the forum and wanted to introduce myself. New owner of a 2017 RPOD 180. New to RV'ing as well. We purchased this primarily in the short term for our 22 old son who moved back home (with the rest of his adult siblings) in the wake of Covid-19. He was relegated to sleeping in the garage and we took pity on him. However, longer term we hope to do some camping in the Pacific Northwest and I'm getting past wanting to do it in a tent. ------------- 2017 RPOD 180 Hood River 2014 BMW X3 xDrive28i |
Replies:
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 28 Apr 2020 at 10:03pm
|
Welcome and congratulations! I hope the current situation eases and you can get some camping in. We reached the point of being beyond tents some years before we found out about RPods. Our 179 has been a great way to travel. We too are waiting for things to open up so we can get some camping in.
------------- StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
Posted By: s2anderson
Date Posted: 28 Apr 2020 at 10:07pm
|
Thanks StephenH. Out of curiosity, where in NC? One of our daughters (who had moved back home for a bit) is doing Teach for America in Weldon (Northampton County). She is just finishing her first year back east and has one to go on her commitment but is already talking about grad school at UNC. We've been out a couple times in the past few months before pandemic crazy to visit. Beautiful state. ------------- 2017 RPOD 180 Hood River 2014 BMW X3 xDrive28i |
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 28 Apr 2020 at 10:10pm
|
Wake Forest in Wake County, Northeast of Raleigh. Chapel Hll is west of us.
------------- StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
Posted By: Pod People
Date Posted: 29 Apr 2020 at 7:42am
|
Welcome to the forum. We live in Chapel Hill and both of us are UNC grads. It is a great place to live and study. There are many great graduate programs here and I'm sure your daughter would love it. Let me know if we can help you enjoy your pod once you can get it moving-it's a great way to travel Vann ------------- Vann & Laura 2015 RPod 179 https://postimg.cc/0zwKrfB9"> 
|
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 29 Apr 2020 at 8:22am
|
Welcome to the forum. We've been using our 179 as a temporary home for our 22 year old grandson. We had to quarantine him because his janitorial job at Virginia Tech put him at high risk and my elderly father has COPD and would almost certainly die if he contracted Covid. The problem we ran into was after a few weeks the back tank got full and with the lockdown its hard to find an open dump station. He's got his own apartment now so its worked out. ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 29 Apr 2020 at 9:09am
|
We have the sewer access/clean-out pipes in our yard. There are two, one near the foundation and the other nearer to the circle. I verified these are sewage by observing down through after removing the cover and flushing the toilet inside the house. Once I verified, I just run sewage hose from the RPod to the pipe. It has worked out well for us. I did have to purchase and store extra sewage hose to have enough to reach, but I keep them in a large Rubbermaid tote. With the hoses inside capped and the lid on, I slide that into the crawl space under the house. I've not had any problem with odor or pests. If we had a septic tank, it could still possibly work, but I would definitely make sure we were using only biological agents for treatment. Formaldehyde would kill the bacteria needed for the septic tank to work. ------------- StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 29 Apr 2020 at 9:30am
|
If I thought I’d be using the rpod at home again during a pandemic I’d think about putting in a drain for it. Could happen. I haven’t been in the new house very long but there appears to be an access point in the far end of the back yard. Thats about 75 feet from the parking pad. At least it’s downhill... ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: GlueGuy
Date Posted: 29 Apr 2020 at 11:41am
|
Our septic tank is in the yard just 15 feet or so away from the driveway. If we needed to empty the black tank, it would be easy to get close enough to run the hose into the septic tank. Haven't needed to do that (yet), but we've discussed it. ------------- bp 2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost |
Posted By: lostagain
Date Posted: 29 Apr 2020 at 2:19pm
|
We have a clean out right next to where we park our trailer. The only problem is it's on the wrong side and it's a bit uphill from the discharge point. I got an anti-gravity device to help the flow, but haven't tried it yet. The guy I bought it from said it comes with a 5 year anti-gravity guarantee. Until I get it all assembled, I'll just pull the trailer in tongue first and will be right next to the clean out with no uphill problems. ------------- Never leave footprints behind. Fred & Maria Kearney Sonoma 167RB Our Pod 172 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 29 Apr 2020 at 2:29pm
Otherwise known in the plumbing trade as a "grinder pump".  ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: podwerkz
Date Posted: 30 Apr 2020 at 8:46pm
I wish certain other things around here had an anti-gravity guarantee!  ------------- r･pod 171 gone but not forgotten! |
Posted By: GlueGuy
Date Posted: 01 May 2020 at 10:39am
I'm betting that NASA would be very interested in one (or more) of those.  ------------- bp 2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost |
Posted By: lostagain
Date Posted: 01 May 2020 at 10:45am
Now that I'm stuck at home and can't go camping, it's time to take the anti-gravity machine out of the garage and test it along with my perpetual motion machine and cold fusion reactor.  ------------- Never leave footprints behind. Fred & Maria Kearney Sonoma 167RB Our Pod 172 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 01 May 2020 at 11:40am
|
Be sure to only use room temperature superconducting wire when hooking all that stuff up, none of it will work right with copper cables. ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: mjlrpod
Date Posted: 01 May 2020 at 3:37pm
|
I am selling a berillium sphere if you need a little extra pumping power. You'll be able to clean out the tanks at warp factor 4 ------------- 2017.5 Rp-172 2020 R-pod 195 2015 Frontier sv 4.0L 6cyl I'll be rpodding |
Posted By: lostagain
Date Posted: 01 May 2020 at 4:04pm
|
I was going to use my jumper cables attached to the trailer battery bank. ------------- Never leave footprints behind. Fred & Maria Kearney Sonoma 167RB Our Pod 172 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 01 May 2020 at 8:11pm
Accept no substitutes, only superconductors will work properly for that kind of gear. If you don't have a cryogenic system on hand I can hook you up with some unobtainium that's superconducting at room temperature. Its left over from a cancelled contract with CERN after they decided to go old school with liquid helium. CERN ended up cooking off a couple of their big dipoles after they had a helium leak. CERN's loss is your gain. This Pandoran unobtainium is fully refined and ready for final fabrication, at the bargain basement price of $40 mil per kilo. As the unobtainium is currently in the possession of a Nigerian customs official only a modest advance fee will be required to expedite its export from that country to the US. When you are ready I can send you the banking information for his account on the Isle of Man. ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: Landyacht
Date Posted: 02 May 2020 at 7:39am
|
We are new to this site. We purchased a 2009 RP-172 last year. We absolutely love it...except for the soft floor which, I've read, is a common problem. We are retired sailors so are now taking our adventure on land instead of sea.
We will be putting a new floor on top of the existing one this year. |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 02 May 2020 at 7:53am
|
Welcome to the forum. As former sailors I'm sure you're familiar with the causes and insidious nature of wood rot so will sort out that potential issue before laying a new floor on top of the soft one. Good luck! ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: Landyacht
Date Posted: 02 May 2020 at 8:33am
| Thanks! We're quite sure there's no rot. Our Pod was well maintained and undercoated but we'll check first. Looking forward to a fun summer...if our campgrounds open. We're in Nova Scotia...lots to explore. |
Posted By: lostagain
Date Posted: 02 May 2020 at 9:57am
|
So, the unobtainium is the solution to my conductor problem. It's just a little outside my budget as I had to unexpectedly buy a new truck last February and am tapped out. I think I'll return my anti-gravity machine to the guy I bought it from. He said it came with a money-back guarantee. He lives somewhere in Florida so now I just have to look him up again. I think he got a job in the government there. Landyacht, welcome to the forum. As another ex-sailor, I can say tinkering on your Pod will very satisfying. As for your soft floor, do check for moisture, but also keep in mind that the floor is comprised of a sandwich of thin plywood and foam, the latter of which can get squishy from too much weight applied repeatedly as the plywood flexes over the foam. ------------- Never leave footprints behind. Fred & Maria Kearney Sonoma 167RB Our Pod 172 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 02 May 2020 at 3:46pm
Dang, now I’ll have to call the North Koreans back and see if I can lay off the unobtainium on them. What happened to your old truck? ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: lostagain
Date Posted: 02 May 2020 at 4:44pm
|
My old truck, when we went to Las Vegas, started overheating badly again. Coolant started disappearing into thin air, but not from flowing into the overflow container and out, nor into the oil. I spoke with the guy who worked on it normally and he said that motor has a tendency develop a small crack on the exhaust port of the head where water could get into the exhaust gasses and get blown out the tail pipe. Same possibility for the head gasket. Since I had no place to fix it in Las Vegas and we had to be home for a class I was teaching by the following Monday, 4 days later, we decided that the safest way to get home was to get a new truck. It wasn't the best buying circumstances, but were able to negotiate a last day of the month price with a dealer who was anxious to meet his quota. I went back to Las Vegas and retrieved the Dakota, filled it with a big slug of K-Seal and drove it home. Ran fine and I may have even sealed the leak. I slapped a for sale sign on it and parked in front of my house. A neighbor who has a used car lot payed me the price I had been asking and put it on his lot. A few weeks later it was gone to who knows where. We wanted a truck that we could count on not to break down as we had lots of trips planned for this summer, but, alas, Mr. SARS-CoV-2 came along and put the kabash on that idea. Now, I'm stuck at home whining about not being able to go camping and the spring here is screaming to get on the road. Who said life was fair? Best of luck selling your unobtanium to Kim and the gang. I see he's back in the public eye.... at least they say so.
------------- Never leave footprints behind. Fred & Maria Kearney Sonoma 167RB Our Pod 172 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost |
Posted By: podwerkz
Date Posted: 02 May 2020 at 5:16pm
|
My flux capacitor developed a cooling leak, and the di-tritium cobalt/hydrazine radioactive hyper-coolant solution spilled out and ate thru the earth, leaving a giant smoking crevasse, the fluid is on its way to....oh...wait never mind, lets not warn them.
------------- r･pod 171 gone but not forgotten! |
Posted By: lostagain
Date Posted: 02 May 2020 at 5:36pm
|
Dang, you're using the same kind of coolant I was using in my Dakota. No wonder I could never find where it went. The new F-150 sure looks pretty in my driveway, though.  ------------- Never leave footprints behind. Fred & Maria Kearney Sonoma 167RB Our Pod 172 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 02 May 2020 at 6:57pm
|
Yeah the coolant disappearing out the exhaust from a crack near the exhaust valve is not that unusual with some vehicles. Just think, in a few short years all we’ll all be driving ultra reliable high performance EVs with 500 mile range and that ICE nonsense will be a thing of the past. 👍
But dang, for now, all dressed up with a new trailer AND a new F150 and no place to go. That truly is a bummer. It might be on again off again but it will get better. Did y’all know that if you could tunnel a hole from any point on the surface of the earth straight to any other point on earth at the same elevation, evacuate all the air, and drop a vehicle through the tunnel it would come to a stop at the other point 48 minutes later? Doesn’t matter if it’s NY to SF or London to Shanghai , 48 minutes from anywhere to anywhere else. And all by regular gravity, no antigravity required, and the vehicle needs no motive power. But the catch is that you’ll need superconducting magnets to create a containment system to protect the tunnel walls from being vaporized by the heat of the earth’s core. Did I mention that I happen to have some high temperature superconducting material that would be perfect for the project? ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: Landyacht
Date Posted: 04 May 2020 at 3:15pm
|
Regarding soft flooring...there is no room to lay another floor on top of original floor. Any suggestions as to how to fix this from underneath our pod or do we have to tear out the existing floor?
Please help!!!! Thanks |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 04 May 2020 at 3:24pm
|
Where exactly are the soft spots and how big are they? Do you really need to do the whole floor? ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: Landyacht
Date Posted: 04 May 2020 at 3:59pm
|
Basically, from the cupboards to the settee is soft between the cross-pieces, the outlines of which are easy to see. We hoped to put another floor on top but there is only about 1/4" to spare beneath the fuse panel, so, not an option. Just looked under the pod and there are tub-like things which, I assume, protect the hoses, etc. Seems like a major job to take them out. I guess I'm answering my own question. We will have to tear up the floor.
Any other suggestions???? |
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 04 May 2020 at 4:12pm
|
The "tub-like things" are likely the fresh water tank and the gray and black water holding tanks.Before you tear things up, take a look at this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-LIZN-Dtak - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-LIZN-Dtak ------------- StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
Posted By: Landyacht
Date Posted: 04 May 2020 at 4:28pm
| I feel rather stupid to not realize they were the tanks. Guess that's how you learn. Thank you! We will view the video. |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 04 May 2020 at 5:12pm
|
Don't be embarrassed, there are no dumb questions, only dumb decisions from doing stuff that it would have been easy to avoid by asking the questions in the first place. Yes, I think you will need to remove the floor in the areas you are describing that are soft. Replace the plywood and if damaged or broken up, the underlying foam, and either replace all the existing finished flooring, or if you want, cut the finished flooring cleanly straight across and install other flooring of your choice up to that line and cover the gap with a floor transition strip. it depends on how you feel about the aesthetics of that. For me, I'm a firm believer in if it ain't broke don't fix it, so I think I'd try to save as much as possible. Good luck! ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: Landyacht
Date Posted: 04 May 2020 at 6:52pm
|
Wise words from a wise person. I agree. We'll do the best we can with the least destruction.
We appreciate your input. |
Posted By: alwayssmilingtoo
Date Posted: 05 May 2020 at 6:01pm
|
Hi there, I'm new to the Forum...I have a lot of questions although I've owned my RPOD for 5 years..I didn't buy it from a great dealer, service has been terrible. My hot water tank needs replacing, does anyone know where, other than manufacturer, I can get a hot water tank as it apparently froze? ------------- Lina Scott |
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 05 May 2020 at 6:08pm
|
Amazon. https://smile.amazon.com/s?k=RV+water+heater&ref=nb_sb_noss_2 - https://smile.amazon.com/s?k=RV+water+heater&ref=nb_sb_noss_2
------------- StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 05 May 2020 at 6:16pm
|
Welcome! Sorry about your water heater. I would just get a direct replacement Suburban one. Its not that expensive so not worth the trouble to try to fit something different. The model is Suburban SW6DE. The E stands for electric. If you never use electric (I don't) then the SW6D is around 70-80 USD cheaper. RV Parts Country has the SW6D for only 280 USD. Not bad. Just be sure to pull the anode and fully drain it for winterization and you shouldn't have any problems in future. ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: alwayssmilingtoo
Date Posted: 05 May 2020 at 6:37pm
|
Thanks. Unfortunately, for me to order from Suburban from Canada, it would cost me a fortune. One other question and I've had 5 years of trouble with this. Has anyone had any problems with their garage door and the seal? I cannot and have not been able to get the seal to cure to the door side and there is a lot of water damage in the back. The dealers cannot find a fix and say it's a manufacturers defect but no one will help with all of the water damage. There is mold constantly in the back portion and now we're trying to deal with it through various other groups. Anyone else have a seal problem in the garage door? ------------- Lina Scott |
Posted By: alwayssmilingtoo
Date Posted: 05 May 2020 at 6:41pm
|
which model is it? ------------- Lina Scott |
Posted By: lostagain
Date Posted: 05 May 2020 at 6:44pm
|
always, the water heater is easy to replace. Check various sources for best pricing on the model OG suggested. I replaced mine with a direct replacement and it took about 2 hours of work. The old one, once disconnected, slips right out and the new one fits the same. You will need some Dicor butyl tape to seal the edges and some pex tools and fittings that you can pick up at Big Box Hardware. While you're messing with the water heater a/c connections, if you get the SW6DE model, you may want to consider a switch between the water heater electric connection and the power supply. It's just a little insurance so you don't inadvertently burn the heating element by accidentally turning it on when the tank is empty. You can check the archives for lots of discussion on this issue. Good luck!
It's available on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Suburban-Manufacturing-5239A-Water-Heater/dp/B01MY7FHKM/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=suburban+sw6de&qid=1588722345&sr=8-1 - https://www.amazon.com/Suburban-Manufacturing-5239A-Water-Heater/dp/B01MY7FHKM/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=suburban+sw6de&qid=1588722345&sr=8-1 They ship to/from Canada if I'm not mistaken. ------------- Never leave footprints behind. Fred & Maria Kearney Sonoma 167RB Our Pod 172 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost |